Children’s Aid Holds Grand Opening for South Bronx Headquarters

The Children’s Aid Society held a grand opening today for its new 40,000 square foot Bronx headquarters, with a crowd of nearly 100 donors, friends and staff gathering to mark the occasion. The new site, located at 910 East 172nd Street, features a state-of-the-art health center that will provide more than 15,000 visits per year to an estimated 4,000 children, nearly doubling the capacity of the organization’s current medical, dental and mental health services in the South Bronx.

The new site will accommodate health care referrals from all Children’s Aid programs in the South Bronx, and will provide comprehensive health and social services for children and adolescents from Children’s Aid’s foster care programs in the South Bronx.

“Families that become connected to our Child Welfare and Family Services will find that services that might have otherwise taken them from one side of the Bronx to the other are happening under one roof,” said Director of Permanency Michael Wagner in his remarks to the crowd. “This will ease access and free up time that families need to be strong and connected.”

Over the last 12 years, Children’s Aid has built a network of coordinated services for underserved children and families in targeted South Bronx neighborhoods, where poverty and unemployment rates are high, college graduation rates are under 10 percent and health indicators—obesity, teen births, and access to care and insurance—rank among the worst in the country.

"Recognizing the vital role that health and parent engagement play in student success, today we are poised to act boldly on our promise to help children on a pathway from cradle to college," President and CEO Richard Buery told the guests. "Our capable staff will provide children and families health care, as well as safety and stability, to assure that children will have all they need to succeed and thrive."

Dia Ortiz, who was placed in foster care as a teenager and is now in her junior year at John Jay College, spoke movingly of the mentors and friends who continue to support her on her journey to adulthood.

Sights and Sounds of Children's Aid

Click "play" below to watch youth from across New York City take part in the Iron Go!Chefs Competition, one of many programs at Children's Aid that teaches young people how to cook and enjoy healthy foods.

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The Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School officially opened its doors with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house on Monday, August 27, 2012. Among the 150 guests in attendance were students, families, friends, Children’s Aid Society and charter school staff, Senator Gustavo Rivera, Deputy Bronx Borough President Aurelia Greene and Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg.